There are parties and then there are parties, as this trio of treats by Maine authors proves. There's nothing small towns love more than Halloween. In "Halloween Party Murder," Tinker's Cove hosts a haunted house. It's Meier's way of giving her series heroine, Lucy Stone, a chance to apologize to her neighbors Ty and Heather Moon for suspecting them of kidnapping her grandson. Lucy recruits the members of her Hat and Mitten Fund to populate the terrifying tableaux Ty creates in each room of his home. It's all scary fun until the person playing drowned Ophelia fails to emerge from her bath. Hollis' Bar Harbor offers locals a chance to go upscale, dressing up as their favorite spooks in "Death of a Halloween Party Monster." The partygoers at the restaurant bash laugh uproariously at police chief Sergio Alvares' fear of Pennywise until music teacher Boris Candy, who came dressed as Stephen King's terrifying clown, turns up dead in the restaurant's freezer, leaving chef Hayley Powell to discover his killer. Ross' party in "Scared Off" is nothing like the other two official municipal events. Julia, whose family runs the Snowden Family Clambake in tiny Busman's Harbor, gets a frantic call from her 13-year-old niece, Page. Page's parents have allowed her to sleep over at Talia Davies' house with fellow middle schooler Vanessa. The three girls invite three other friends, and the six quickly turn into 60. When high school boys with beer kegs start showing up, Page knows she has to bail but worries because no one can find the Davies' upstairs tenant, who agreed to watch the three girls for the night. When Mrs. Zelisko finally does turn up, it's not good. Readers may never look at Halloween parties the same way. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Meier, Hollis, and Ross each contribute a novella set in Maine and focused on Halloween to their entertaining fourth holiday-themed anthology (after 2019's Haunted House Murder). In Meier's "Halloween Party Murder," fun at a haunted house turns into horror when Heather Moon, the house's owner, is found dead. Did Heather's husband kill her for the large inheritance she recently received? Journalist Lucy Stone investigates. New restaurateur Hayley Powell throws a costume bash in Hollis's "Death of a Halloween Party Monster," but didn't expect one guest, a high school teacher dressed as a clown, to have his head bashed in. She'll need to figure out who among the other guests really hated clowns. Finally, in Ross's "Scared Off," teenagers who crash a slumber party are frightened to see the ghost of Mrs. Zelisko, the upstairs neighbor who's supposed to be supervising the party for the host's irresponsible parents. Then Mrs. Zelisko turns up dead. All three charming novellas are enlivened by appealing characters. These puzzling cases are a seasonal treat for cozy readers. Agents: (for Meier) Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency; (for Ross) John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Sept.)